Nigeria working with UK to deny, revoke treasury looters’ visas —SPIP

Special Presidential Investigation Panel, SPIP, for Recovery of Public Property has informed that the Federal Government is working with the United Kingdom to ensure that identified treasury looters are no longer issued visa.

Daniel Murphy, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, and Ibrahim Magu, the acting EFCC Chairman

This came as SPIP announced the recovery of $7 million (N2.1 billion at official rate) illegally kept in a bank (name withheld), as well as N533 million and land worth N1.5 billion, all from the “previous management” of NEXIM Bank.

Chairman of the panel, Okoi Obono-Obla, disclosed this while briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on activities of the panel.

The spokesperson of the SPIP, Lucie-Ann Laha, who made this known in a statement, said the recovered funds and property had since been returned to the bank.

He said the SPIP was partnering with the United Kingdom’s Home Secretary to ensure that some public officers “perceived to have looted public funds and illegally acquired assets both in Nigeria and the UK” were prevented from entering that country.

Mr Obono-Obla stated that the panel had also recovered and returned to the National Theatre, N24 million which was allegedly diverted by some directors of the agency.

Also recovered, he said, were two hectares of land in Abuja valued at over N2 billion, belonging to the National Council of Arts and Culture.

The chairman further told President Buhari that the panel also recovered and returned a part of Agura Hotel belonging to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

He said the recovered part of the hotel had been illegally “annexed by some so-called powerful persons with untouchable connections for over 20 years”.

Other recoveries by the SPIP, according to Mr Obono-Obla, are 19 official Sports Utility Vehicles allegedly made away with by former commissioners of the National Population Commission after their tenures in office.

He said the panel had charged a former Director in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to court for failure to declare his assets.

The assets include houses in upscale areas of Abuja, a quarry and a farm within the Federal Capital Territory, for which a court has granted an interim forfeiture order, he said.

“The SPIP is also investigating some members of the National Assembly and former governors for a range of alleged offences.

“These include illegal purchase of designated official residences for principal officers of the National Assembly excluded from the monetisation policy at giveaway prices.

“Others are purchase of several property worth hundreds of millions in various currencies, and flagrant abuse of office thus causing financial adversity to the nation.”